>> Judge Judy: Miss Mason,
you had a house
that you were getting ready
to put on the market for sale,
based upon what I read,
and you hired Mr. Frazier
to paint the house,
both inside and out,
and do some other odd
things that were in the house.
You arrived at a price with him,
and that price was how much?
>> It was $4,511.44.
>> Judge Judy: And do you have
a written contract with him?
>> No, we did not have
a contract.
>> Judge Judy: Well, you did
have a contract.
>> Yes.
We had a written contract.
And I have an invoice.
>> Judge Judy: Okay.
And you gave him half,
is that correct?
>> It was a little over half.
>> Judge Judy: How much did you
give him?
>> It was $2,629.44.
>> Judge Judy: Owing a balance
of $1,882.
>> Correct.
>> Judge Judy: And he started
the work on what date?
>> On May the 5th of 2017.
>> On May the 6th.
I dropped my gear off
from work on May the --
Friday, May the 5th, after work.
>> Judge Judy: You have --
>> I have a day job.
>> Judge Judy: So you took
this job as a side job?
>> Correct.
>> Judge Judy: Miss Mason,
did you know that he was
taking this as a side job,
that he had a full-time job?
>> Yes, I did.
>> Judge Judy: Okay.
And I assume that the reason
that you hired him,
knowing that he had
a full-time job
and this was a side job,
that he was going to do
on weekends and after work,
was because the rate
that he gave you of $4,500
was a reasonable one.
>> That's correct.
>> Judge Judy: Had you gotten
other estimates
from other painters
prior to getting the estimate
from Mr. Frazier?
>> Yes, we had --
>> Judge Judy: Yes.
Been there, done that.
Okay.
And I'd like you to tell me
what those estimates were.
>> Both of them were in
the ballpark of $6,300.
>> Judge Judy: So this was
several thousand dollars less.
>> $7,500.
>> Judge Judy: Shh!
>> I'm sorry.
>> Judge Judy: Don't.
Do I look --
>> I apologize. Sorry.
>> Judge Judy: So, so far,
$6,300, the ballpark.
So you were getting $2,000 deal.
>> Correct.
>> Judge Judy: But the $2,000
deal would, of necessity,
if I were an intelligent person,
and clearly you are, would say,
"This is going to take longer
than the $6,300 deal, because
he's doing this as a side job."
So I would factor that in.
Unless, what you're factoring in
is that he's less competent.
So, either one of two things
is true.
Either you said, "Well, the job
should cost $6,300.
I'm going to pay him
$2,000 less.
Either I'm paying him $2,000
less because it's going
to take him a little more time,
or I'm going to pay him $2,000
less because he's less of a
craftsman."
What decision was it
that you made?
>> It was the timeframe for us.
>> Judge Judy: Fine.
So you knew it was going to
take longer for him to do it...
>> Most likely.
>> Judge Judy: ...than for
somebody who was doing it
full-time.
And how many rooms
did you want him to paint?
>> There were three bedrooms,
a hallway,
the ceiling in the living room,
the foyer, the dining room,
and the kitchen and pantry.
>> Judge Judy: A full house.
>> Yes. It was a full
refresh of the house.
>> Judge Judy: A full house.
>> Correct.
>> Judge Judy: And did any paper
have to be removed
before he painted?
>> Yes. There was wallpaper.
>> Judge Judy: Just a second.
So there was wallpaper
that also had to be removed.
In how many rooms?
>> In the foyer and the kitchen
and the pantry.
>> Judge Judy: And how many
days did you give him
to do that work?
>> It was five days.
>> Judge Judy: [ Laughs ]
>> He said he had a crew.
>> Judge Judy: Okay. Okay.
It was five days.
Well, that's impossible.
Then I would've said,
"You know what? I'm going to go
with the $6,300 job."
That's what I would've said.
If somebody said to me they were
going to paint an entire house.
Before they painted the entire
house, they were going
to have to remove wallpaper
from three rooms.
Once you remove wallpaper, you
have to take care of the walls.
The walls require very special
treatment after you remove
wallpaper, especially wallpaper
that's been on for a long time.
Sometimes a lot of care
has to be made in prepping
before you paint
and refresh a whole house.
So we're talking about somebody
who's doing it part-time.
I would've said, "You know what?
If every other guy says
$2,000 more, I would have gone
with the $2,000 more."